The four shareholders present were left dizzy by Wen Ying’s proposal.
They were all still students—were they really about to start a company now?
Geng Xiao and Tang Yifeng had bought their shares from Li Mengjiao, investing because they foresaw this day coming. If ‘Shrimp King’ had no future, why would they have eagerly joined?
But they hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.
Geng Xiao had assumed Wen Ying would gradually increase the number of ‘Shrimp King’ franchises, waiting until after their college entrance exams when they’d have more time and the legal status of adults to dive in and push ‘Shrimp King’ toward structured management.
Yet Wen Ying’s moves were faster than they’d imagined!
Geng Xiao instinctively asked, “Is there such a rush?”
Wen Ying’s expression was serious. “Absolutely! I know none of you are short on cash— I’m the one who needs money—but that’s not why I’m rushing. Setting up a catering company for ‘Shrimp King’ could be delayed, and we wouldn’t lose money, but it would limit ‘Shrimp King’s future growth. Any startup begins by laying a foundation. When the business was small and funds were tight, we could get by with a makeshift pit. But such a foundation can’t withstand change. Now is the perfect time to make it solid.”
As high school students, their need for money wasn’t as pressing as adults’, so they were less resistant to skipping dividends. More importantly, it was 2005—e-commerce was rising, and express logistics were developing.
A catering chain should have its own suppliers, raw material factories, and even logistics channels.
In her past life, Sichuan’s local chain ‘Tan Fish Head’ had, at its peak, tens of thousands of employees, hundreds of acres of factories, stores nationwide, and billions in assets—yet it collapsed overnight.
Wen Ying didn’t dare compare herself to ‘Tan Fish Head’s founder. Despite its eventual failure, its founder had built a massive business, even making the Hurun catering rich list, with personal ability far surpassing Wen Ying, who only earned a 4 million yuan down payment by age 31.
Her advantage was learning from ‘Tan Fish Head’s mistakes. Knowing this case study, she’d do her best to steer ‘Shrimp King’ clear.
Wen Ying’s words struck Qin Jiao and Geng Xiao the most.
As peers with privileged backgrounds, Tang Yifeng and Wang Shuang were less attuned to these matters, but Qin Jiao was the quickest to respond.
In her critical senior year, Qin Jiao prioritised studies and hadn’t focused on ‘Shrimp King’s daily operations. Still, over the past six months, she’d worked hard to improve herself.
She no longer fumed over losing the student council election—school competitions were trivial compared to real life. Even her powerful father had to face external threats, like when a misstep with Yu Wenhao nearly cost the Qin family their lives.
In this environment, Qin Jiao wanted to better herself, learn more, and stop being someone who hid behind her parents. She wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them against threats.
Returning to Rongcheng from a Shanghai exchange program, learning her mother nearly died at Yu Wenhao’s hands deepened Qin Jiao’s sense of crisis. Even her brother Qin Yi’s aggressive business expansion might stem from this incident!
After a moment’s thought, Qin Jiao agreed with Wen Ying: “She’s right. We should form a company now. The timing is perfect. In six months, I’ll take my college entrance exams, and afterward, I’ll learn to manage the company!”
With Qin Jiao’s support, the others had no objections.
This meant not only skipping dividends this Spring Festival but likely reinvesting profits for the company’s first two or three years. Wen Ying urged everyone to prepare mentally.
Wang Shuang had planned to buy gifts for family elders but now faced no dividends.
When he told his father, Wang Jun, learning that students were starting a company and that his son was among the most promising alongside Qin Xianming’s children, gave Wang Shuang a 10,000 yuan red envelope in excitement.
Wang Shuang, once carefree with money, now appreciated his father’s hard-won success. Holding Wang Jun’s money, he vowed to intern diligently at Tianjiao.
Wang Jun was puzzled: “Why the sudden interest in the entertainment industry?”
Wen Ying’s novel serialisation, New Concept Essay Contest participation, and scriptwriting were all tied to her writing talent.
Entertainment and literature often intertwined—great works were adapted into TV or film. Wen Ying’s scriptwriting for Tianjiao was just an early step, unsurprising to Wang Jun.
But Wang Shuang’s sudden urge to join the entertainment industry, especially his excitement since Tianjiao Films’ founding and his desire to become a producer, seemed impulsive!
Wang Jun worried, but Wang Shuang argued confidently: “Dad, you invested in Tianjiao but don’t manage it. Neither Uncle Li nor Uncle Qin knows the ins and outs of the film industry. If we don’t understand it and let someone else be the producer, what if they steal our money? I don’t need to be a great producer, but I can’t let us be cheated!”
This had some logic, and Wang Jun grudgingly agreed.
Still, he warned Wang Shuang not to neglect studies for Tianjiao. Wang Shuang’s grades had improved, and Wang Jun hoped not to cower at the next parent-teacher meeting!
Wang Shuang agreed, then hesitated before calling Wen Ying instead of texting Li Mengjiao: “Li Mengjiao’s album sales aren’t rising. Is someone sabotaging her? I asked Teacher Yuan, but she won’t tell me. We need a plan—we can’t just take this loss!”
Li Mengjiao’s situation seemed dire. Yuan Fenghui had been frequently calling Li Zhentao, who took the calls privately.
Wang Shuang wanted to help, but neither would tell him anything.
It seemed General Manager Guan was restricting promotional channels, withholding resources unless Li Mengjiao signed.
Signing wasn’t inherently bad. Initially unsure about being a star, if she chose this path, she’d need to sign with a company eventually.
But Guan’s company had used contest advancement to pressure contestants into signing, and now they were throttling Li Mengjiao’s album promotion. If she signed, would they threaten her again if she didn’t comply?
The more they pressured, the less she should sign!
Li Mengjiao’s debut album was contracted with Guan’s company, with Guan handling promotion. If he slacked off, no one could do much.
Wang Shuang suggested taking back the album’s promotion to avoid Guan’s threats.
“It’s just a matter of money, right?”
Wen Ying wanted to retort: Sure, just money—but you don’t have any!
The Li family had money, but their resources were limited. Unless Li Zhentao stooped to misusing public funds for his daughter, her career couldn’t rely solely on money.
Wang Shuang and the Qin family had money and had invested in Tianjiao Films for Li Zhentao’s sake.
But no one’s money grew on trees. Qin Yi and Qin Jiao, Qin Xianming’s children, had a 3 million yuan startup fund each.
Wen Ying figured Wang Jun’s indulgence of Wang Shuang meant a higher tolerance for failure, as long as he avoided vices like gambling or drugs.
But Li Mengjiao wasn’t Qin Xianming’s or Wang Jun’s daughter—they had no obligation to bankroll her rise.
Wang Shuang’s idea of reclaiming promotion rights was wildly unrealistic!
Tianjiao Films would pay, while Guan reaped the profits?
Wen Ying didn’t hold back, roasting Wang Shuang. He grinned sheepishly: “I’m just worried about Li Mengjiao…”
“Worried about what? If she can’t handle this, she should quit the entertainment industry now!”
No industry, not just entertainment, is smooth sailing. If you can’t handle setbacks, how can you seize success?
Those who reach the top endure ups and downs, forging a resilient heart!
“That’s true, but are we doing nothing?” Wang Shuang muttered.
Wen Ying replied sternly, “Who says we’re doing nothing? I wrote a script for Li Mengjiao, you’re learning to be a producer, and she’s taking acting classes. Guan can choke her album promotion, but he can’t stop her from acting in a drama. So what if Xu Mei’s album sales are slightly ahead? If Li Mengjiao’s drama takes off, Guan won’t be able to hold her down!”
Not only would he fail to suppress her, but he’d likely grovel to her.
Li Mengjiao’s entertainment journey began with the talent show, but the real battle was just starting now.
Wang Shuang was fired up by Wen Ying’s words.
This wasn’t just Li Mengjiao’s fight. A fledgling film company, a father devoted to his daughter, a frustrated producer, and two friends who cared for her—they’d unite to take on Guan, with his experience and connections, and the industry’s “unspoken rules”!
When Li Mengjiao soared, all suppression would be mere paper tigers.
…
While Wen Ying in Rongcheng decided to formalise ‘Shrimp King’ and rallied Wang Shuang to stay patient and prepare Li Mengjiao’s debut drama, a storm was brewing in Beijing’s Xie family.
Xie Jinghu personally inspected Dai Chenglan’s family factory and finalised an investment with her husband.
He decided to use his savings to invest in the factory, while Zhao Dong would invest under ‘Jinhu Group’s name.
This gave him a legitimate reason to go to Rongcheng.
Dai Chenglan and Zhao Dong, eager for Xie Jinghu’s money, catered to him. Back in Beijing, Xie Jinghu approached Xie Yuping, saying he wasn’t disturbing his wife Zou Weijun’s recovery but needed to use her savings and was informing Xie Yuping out of courtesy.
“Big brother, I’ve no ulterior motives—just a straightforward investment. The returns aren’t huge, but it’s safe!”
Before the 1997 financial crisis, Xie Jinghu had run businesses. Afterward, he focused on investments, and his keen eye made Jinhu Group a quiet success.
Because he abandoned real industry, Xie Yuping had scolded him for lacking responsibility—real industry drives a nation’s economy.
So Xie Jinghu was confident about investing in a factory.
But after his spiel, Xie Yuping only said “Oh” without looking up.
Xie Jinghu felt a subtle unease.
“Big brother, what do you mean? Do you agree or not?”
—Did his brother suspect he was transferring marital assets?!
Annoyed by the distraction, Xie Yuping thought of Xie Qian’s land deal—the contract was signed, initial payments made, and later loans would need Xie Jinghu’s repayment. It was time to tell him the truth.
“You know Xie Qian went to Shanghai recently, right?”
Xie Jinghu nodded.
He was furious about it—Xie Qian had deliberately avoided him.
Worse, Xie Qian was back in Beijing and still dodging him!
Still fuming over his son’s disrespect, Xie Yuping said casually, “Xie Qian went to Shanghai and bought a plot of land.”
Bought a plot of land.
Bought… a plot of land?!
Xie Jinghu’s mind went blank. He blurted, “Where’d he get the money to buy land?”
Xie Yuping looked at him like he was an idiot.
Xie Jinghu’s head buzzed.
Xie Qian might have a few million, enough for a house in Shanghai, but not land.
Xie Qian had no money, but Zou Weijun did… and that was his money!!
